Aside from a iittle excitement in the ninth inning, the Mets played a nice, clean game, ended their first half on a high note, and have given us a lot to look forward to in the second half of the season.

Dillon Gee was in complete control from start to finish today. He worked quickly – something he has done so well during this stretch – showed good velocity and excellent tailing movement on his fastball, got ahead and was able to get the Pirates to swing at his off-speed stuff. He induced a lot of weak contact in the air, and really didn’t make many mistakes. He’s been fun to watch lately – I hope it continues into the second half.

I am rooting for Ike, but at this point it’s time for the Mets to take a longer look at Josh Satin. When Satin plays, he gets the job done; he works counts, and makes solid contact, and makes things happen out there. I’ll be interested to see how Terry handles the first base situation when play resumes later this week.

All-in-all, it was obviously an uneven first half, but the team has played real well for about a month. They’ve cleaned up their defense, the rotation and bullpen have stepped things up and gotten the job done, and the result has been a better brand of baseball. I look back at Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ game-winning, three-run home run against the Cubs as the turning point. Yes, Eric Young has helped, the promotion of Zack Wheeler has revitalized this team and there are still massive holes on the roster. But, whatever happens over the next 2 1/2 months, if they can continue to play like this, they’ll at least be entertaining down the stretch, and with two Wild Cards up for grabs, anything is possible.

Enjoy the All-Star Game everyone, and Let’sGoMets!

W.B. Mason Post Game Extra

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The Mets are off until Friday when they open a three-game series with the Phillies at Citi Field, with Jeremy Hefner facing Kyle Kendrick at 7:10 pm.